ConoHa VPS Guide: From Account Setup to Docker Deployment

ConoHa VPS is a popular Japanese VPS provider. It has a Japanese UI, yen-based billing, and Japanese-language support. Just selecting the Docker template gives you a ready-to-use container environment, making setup easy.

Comparison with Overseas VPS: Why ConoHa?

Here’s a comparison of domestic and overseas VPS providers from a Docker perspective.

Vultr: An overseas VPS. You can select Docker from Marketplace Apps and get started quickly. However, billing is in USD, so there’s currency exchange risk. The UI is in English.

Sakura VPS: Offers a Docker Compose startup script, but it’s limited to Ubuntu/Debian. If you want CentOS, you’ll need to set up manually.

ConoHa VPS: Just select “Docker” as the template when creating a server. It boots with docker and docker-compose pre-installed.

Bottom line: If you want an easy Docker setup in a Japanese-language environment, ConoHa is the easiest choice. If you’re comfortable with overseas VPS providers, Vultr is also an option.

Pricing Plans (as of January 2026)

Plan	RAM	CPU	SSD	Monthly (Matome-Toku)	Hourly
512MB	1 core	30GB	¥460	-
1GB	2 cores	100GB	¥763	~¥1.4/hr
2GB	3 cores	100GB	¥1,133	¥3.7/hr
4GB	4 cores	100GB	¥2,168	¥7.3/hr

Important: The 512MB plan does not support the Docker template. You need to select 1GB or higher.

All plans have unlimited data transfer. Vultr has bandwidth limits, so ConoHa is advantageous for high-traffic use cases.

“Matome-Toku” is a discount plan for longer commitments. The longer the contract period (3 months, 6 months, 12 months…), the cheaper it gets. Hourly billing charges only for what you use, and never exceeds the monthly cap.

Account Creation

1. Visit the ConoHa official site
2. Click “Sign Up”
3. Enter your email address and password
4. Click the link in the confirmation email
5. Identity verification (phone call or SMS)
6. Register a payment method

Payment methods include credit card, ConoHa Charge (prepaid), Amazon Pay, and more. ConoHa Cards (prepaid cards) allow usage without a credit card.

Creating a VPS

1. Log in to the control panel
2. Select “Add Server” from the left menu
3. Service: Select “VPS”
4. Image Type: Select “Application” then “Docker”
5. Plan: Select 1GB or higher (512MB doesn’t support Docker)
6. Set a root password
7. Optional: Register an SSH Key (recommended)
8. Click “Add”

The server starts in a few minutes. It’s ready when the status shows “Running.”

SSH Connection

Password Authentication

Check the IP address on the server details screen and connect.

ssh root@<IP_ADDRESS>

Use the password you set when creating the server.

SSH Key Authentication (Recommended)

Generate a key pair and register it with ConoHa beforehand.

# Generate key pair
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"

# View public key contents
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Registering with ConoHa: Control Panel > Security > SSH Key > “Add” and paste the public key.

Select the registered SSH Key when creating a server, and you can connect without a password.

Security Groups

ConoHa VPS manages ports using security groups (virtual firewall). By default, only SSH (port 22) is open.

To expose a web server, you need to open port 80 (HTTP) and/or 443 (HTTPS) in the security group.

Setup steps:

1. Control Panel > Network > Security Groups
2. Click “Add” to create a rule
3. Direction: Inbound, Protocol: TCP, Port: 80 (or 443)
4. Apply the security group to the server

ConoHa API

ConoHa doesn’t have an official CLI tool. However, it provides a REST API (OpenStack-compatible), so you can call the API directly for automation.

Getting an API Token

curl -X POST https://identity.tyo1.conoha.io/v2.0/tokens \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "auth": {
      "passwordCredentials": {
        "username": "<API_USERNAME>",
        "password": "<API_PASSWORD>"
      },
      "tenantId": "<TENANT_ID>"
    }
  }'

The API user and tenant ID can be found at Control Panel > API > API Information.

The access.token.id in the response is the token. Use it in the X-Auth-Token header for subsequent requests.

Listing Servers

curl -X GET https://compute.tyo1.conoha.io/v2/<TENANT_ID>/servers \
  -H "X-Auth-Token: <TOKEN>"

The lack of a CLI is inconvenient, but the API is sufficient for automation via shell scripts or Terraform.

Using Docker

Servers created with the Docker template come with Docker CE (27.5.1) and docker-compose pre-installed.

Verification

# Check Docker info
docker info

# Run hello-world image
docker run --rm hello-world

If you see “Hello from Docker!” then it’s working.

Deploying an App with docker-compose

As an example, let’s start Nginx.

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  web:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"

docker-compose up -d

If port 80 is open in the security group, you can access it from a browser.

Domain and SSL Certificate

If you’re exposing a service via Docker, you’ll need domain configuration and an SSL certificate.

DNS Configuration: Two Options

Option A: Use ConoHa DNS

ConoHa has built-in DNS management. Go to Control Panel > Domain > DNS, add your domain, and set an A record pointing to your VPS IP address.

Option B: Use External DNS

You can also set the A record in the DNS management panel where you purchased your domain (Cloudflare, Onamae.com, Muumuu Domain, etc.).

SSL Certificate: Let’s Encrypt + Certbot

Free SSL certificates can be obtained from Let’s Encrypt. In a Docker environment, using the certbot/certbot image is the easiest approach.

Prerequisites: DNS configuration must be complete (A record pointing to the VPS IP).

Preparation: Open port 443 in the security group.

# Get certificate using certbot container
docker run -it --rm \
  -v /etc/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt \
  -v /var/www/html:/var/www/html \
  certbot/certbot certonly \
  --webroot \
  -w /var/www/html \
  -d example.com

The certificate is saved to /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/.

Automatic Certificate Renewal

Let’s Encrypt certificates expire after 90 days. Set up automatic renewal with cron.

# /etc/cron.d/certbot-renew
0 3 * * * root docker run --rm -v /etc/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt certbot/certbot renew --quiet

Scaling

Scale Up: Supported

You can upgrade to a higher plan via Server Details > Change Plan.

Note: The server must be stopped. There will be brief downtime.

Scale Down: Supported

This is a major difference from Vultr. ConoHa supports downgrading.

Vultr doesn’t allow scale-down because “disk shrinking risks data loss.” ConoHa uses fixed 100GB SSD plans, so this limitation doesn’t apply.

This enables a workflow where you temporarily scale up for heavy workloads, then scale back down when things settle.

Caveats

• The 512MB plan cannot be scaled up or down
• Changes are only possible while the server is stopped
• With Matome-Toku plans:
  • Upgrading: Pay the difference
  • Downgrading: No refund for the difference

Pricing Pitfalls

Risk of Giving API Keys to AI

The ConoHa API has full access. It can do everything the control panel can: create/delete servers, manage storage, configure DNS, etc.

However, there’s a major difference from Vultr.

Item	ConoHa	Vultr
Server creation limit	Limited (per plan)	Unlimited
When limit reached	Submit a request form	Can keep creating
Rate limit	Unknown	30 requests/sec

ConoHa has a cap on the number of servers you can create. When you hit the limit, you need to submit a request, and it can be denied.

This means if you give an API key to an AI tool and it goes rogue, it stops at the limit. Vultr has no limit, so it won’t stop until your credit card maxes out.

That said, even within the limit, unintended servers incur charges. Giving API keys to AI is not recommended. If you must:

• Create a sub-user with restricted roles (permissions)
• Set up billing alerts
• Regularly check the server list

The Matome-Toku Trap

Longer contracts get cheaper monthly rates, but there are no refunds for early cancellation.

Example: If you cancel a 12-month contract at month 3, the remaining 9 months are not refunded.

Go with a long-term contract if you’re sure you’ll keep using it; use hourly billing if you’re just trying it out.

512MB Plan Limitations

The cheapest 512MB plan has many restrictions.

• Docker template is not available
• Cannot scale up or down
• Available images are limited

For Docker purposes, you need at least the 1GB plan.

Hourly Billing Cap (This Is a Benefit)

Hourly billing has a “monthly cap.” No matter how much you use, it never exceeds the monthly rate.

For example, using the 2GB plan all month: ¥3.7 x 24 hours x 31 days = ¥2,752, but it caps at the monthly rate of ¥2,033.

ConoHa vs Vultr Comparison

Item	ConoHa	Vultr
Language	Japanese	English
Currency	JPY	USD
Docker setup	Template	Marketplace App
Scale down	Supported	Not supported
CLI	None (API only)	vultr-cli
Cheapest plan	¥460/mo (512MB)	$2.50/mo (IPv6 only)
Data transfer	Unlimited	0.5TB+

Choose ConoHa if you value a Japanese-language environment and yen-based billing. Choose Vultr if you need CLI automation or overseas regions.

References

• ConoHa VPS - Docker Image
• ConoHa VPS - Pricing Plans
• ConoHa VPS - Scale Up/Down
• ConoHa VPS - Plan Change Guide
• ConoHa API Reference